The Philadelphia schools pay an average of $7,000 per pupil. The suburban districts? Almost double. We could probably do better if we had that kind of money. (And that "average figure" is misleading, anyway. It includes special education funding. If you separate it from the total money spent - which you should, because it's a dedicated funding stream that can't be spent on anything else — you'll find that the number spent per average student is far lower. Urban districts include far more at-risk students, who usually require more special ed money.)
The charter schools that were going to save our poorest students? One scandal after another. What else would you expect when politicians are doing favors for their friends? Have you ever noticed that only poor people get charter schools? It's easier to steal from poor people. And it's such an uplifting way to bring back segregation!
And don't even get me started on mandates. That's where the bulk of school spending goes, not teacher salaries or benefits. You know where the mandates come from? Special interest groups. I remember one school solicitor explaining to me how the construction industry lobbied to get a certain amount of fresh air required for special ed classrooms. No Child Left Behind and Race To The Top each added more layers, more costs and limited funding.
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